Backlight failure is common in most RCA models mainly because the backlight is set in the service menu. On some models, there is a Power Save picture mode which lowers the backlight but Standard and Dynamic modes typically run the backlights at 100%.
In this two year old TV, the backlights would shut off after a few seconds or minutes but would stay on for a few hours when the level was reduced but it still cut out.
Opening the TV was a bit of a challenge since the panel was taped to the bezel. There were also screws hidden under the thick foam spacers supporting the panel boards. I realized afterwards that the tv had to be assembled with the diffuser sheets and panel face down inside the bezel and the chassis should be lifted away.
Once the tv was apart, I tested all the strips with my LED tester and they all appeared good. They were probably only failing under higher current. Since I couldn’t isolate individual bad LEDs, I decided to do a full strip replacement.
There appear to be at least two different panels for this model. I initially ordered the wrong strips since I didn’t want to open up the TV again to check the part number. JL.D60081235-031AS-M (AE110475) are 12 half length strips with 8 LEDs per strip. My strips were SQY60LB (AE0110384 or AE0110383 ) which are six rows of left and right strips (8 leds per strip). Shopjimmy indicates these are used in model RLED6090.
When I put the TV back together with the new strips installed, there were some moving lines which I eventually traced to a poorly grounded tcon. I had removed the tcon to release the tabs of a standoff to lift off the reflector sheet.
The service menu for this model is accessed by SOURCE-2-5-8-0 and reducing the backlight saves it under User picture mode. It is recommended to keep the picture mode as Power Save to prevent backlight failure.
Update: After I sold the tv, the new owner inquired about turning off motion smoothing since it creates the soap opera effect when watching movies. Some models have a 120Hz or MEMC (Motion Enhancement Motion Compensation) setting in the Picture menu. Working with him, we were able to find a Film Mode in the Service Menu and turned that option on.
